Abandoned Centereach house demolished by Brookhaven Town

A dilapidated Centereach house that had been vacant for about two decades has been torn down by Brookhaven Town crews, officials said. Credit: Town of Brookhaven
A dilapidated Centereach house that had been vacant for about two decades has been torn down by Brookhaven Town crews, officials said.
Town officials said they had condemned the Callan Lane house, which was demolished on June 2, because it was deemed unsafe by inspectors. The cost of the demolition and disposal of debris will be added to the tax bill of the property owner, town officials said.
Records show the property is privately owned by a resident of Selden. Photographs released by town officials showed overgrown trees and brush on the property, plywood boards shuttering part of the house and a partial collapse of a roof or awning.
"This property has been an eyesore for many years and I am happy that it has finally been removed," Town Councilman Kevin LaValle said in a statement. "Nearly every community is affected by abandoned houses, but the town is doing everything we can to get the owners to secure and maintain them, and if they do not, we will take action to clean it up ourselves."
Separately, town officials have prepared a list of 12 houses -- dubbed the Dirty Dozen by town officials -- to be razed because of structural deficiencies and safety issues. The Callan Lane house was not on that list.
Nine of the 12 targeted houses already have been torn down by Brookhaven crews or by property owners. Three more are expected to be razed by the end of the year, town officials have said.
"Abandoned and unmaintained properties like this one are a threat to the quality of life in the neighborhood and bring down the value of all the homes in the area," Town Supervisor Edward P. Romaine said in a statement. "The town has made great progress by demolishing many of these eyesores over the past year and we continue to target and remove more of them throughout the town."
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